6 months has passed…but what has changed?

I have been fearful for the last few days and even had weird dreams caused from stress about the 6 month anniversary of the earthquake. All day long, I have been waiting for a repeat of the 12th of January or at least a small earthquake. I kept telling myself that the fear was silly and I needed to stop worrying, but I could not stop! Thankfully, I can say that at 11:10 PM we are still earthquake free for this day in Haiti!

I am watching my FAVORITE CNN report and it is good to see him reporting on what is going on in Haiti today. Yes, I am watching Anderson Cooper! I am waiting to see what he says about the orphans in the tent cities and what the plan is for them! Depending on what he says, he may be my un-favorite reporter again! I really do not blame Anderson for his reporting because he is seeing a small part of the problem and is looking at it only from January after the earthquake!

They say only 2% of the debris and rubble has been removed. Experts say it may take 20 years to clean up the rubble! I hope that is not true! There are still 1.5 million people who are homeless. Foreign doctors have gone home and hospitals are ghost towns according to Anderson. Medical Equipment is still in the hospitals but there is no one there to use it! Some hospitals have closed since the earthquake. They have no money to run them and they do not have the doctors to see the patients. Haiti has always had a shortage of doctors. They are saying that the hospitals and clinics need doctors and nurses to come.

I went downtown today to see an engineer about building homes for our staff and biological families. It has not been easy getting rubble cleared away and it has been very costly too. Hopefully, by Wednesday, I will have an idea of the cost of each house and how quickly we can get some houses put up. I wanted houses built 4 months ago but have come to realize that it takes time to plan the right type of housing and housing that is safe.

The traffic was horrible. Where did all of these people come from? Wadson, one of the GLA staff, says there are so many people because everyone from downtown Port-au-Prince have moved to Delmas and Petion-Ville! These areas were already overpopulated and now they are so much worse! The heat also was oppressive. Can you feature how hot it must be inside a tent?

My son, Patrick and his family arrived in Haiti tonight. Patrick will be working with his dad building at Fort Jacques. They will be living on the property. Holli, his wife, will be in charge of volunteers when they are working at the main house. John needs the help and I think having Patrick here will be great for the mission.

We have a large team from Hillcrest Church in Michigan. They are spending their mornings doing Vacation Bible School for all of the children at the Toddler House and their afternoons working at the main house. We are supposed to received 3 containers this week and if we do, they will help unload and sort the supplies for distribution!

God has been good to us and I continue to thank Him everyday for our donors, adoptive families, and those of you reading this blog and praying for everyone at GLA. Without all of you, we could not continue to do the work that we do!

Our work in Haiti is evolving into different areas. We continue to care for orphans , but now also care for children who need short term help. We are building houses and distributing supplies to earthquake victims.

Where is God taking GLA? I do not know. I would love to have a crystal ball that told me everything I needed to know about the future, but I do not have one! So, we will step on faith like we did when we first came to Haiti 19 years ago. We will let God direct us in what we are supposed to do. He will too! He has led us down a path that is sometimes bumpy but always taken us in a direction that benefited the children of Haiti. God’s ways are perfect! I believe that and have faith that whatever path He sends us down, we will be in His will!

My daughter spent yesterday putting up two giving trees at our local library and church on behalf of GLA. The trees will be "traveling" for the next five weeks to other locations. On Monday night, she will be making a presentation to members of the Kiwanis Club hoping to convince them to agree to cover the cost of mailing her collected items to your office in Colorado. We are hoping her Girl Scout Gold Award Project--Adopt an Angel--is successful.

I thought of you many times yesterday as I watched the news and remembered what happened 6 months ago in Haiti. I heard that former President Clinton was in Port au Prince and that only 10% of the donations have actually made it to the people. We continue to pray for everyone at GLA, including our daughter Tina, who is volunteering at GLA until early August. Before she left for GLA, she was asked how her supporters could pray for her. She asked that we pray for physical safety and good health, emotional strength for the long hot and humid days as she serves in a land of great poverty and devastation, (something she hasn't experienced in the past), and for God to use this experience to draw her closer to Him. Today I pray the same for all of you at GLA. May you be encouraged today that many are praying for you!

I was talking to 7 year old children about the trauma Haitia children suffered because of the earthquake etc when one child said, " but God is taking care of them all because He really loves everybody." that includes all of you alright. God bless and watch over all of Haiti

Dear Dixie,
Our minds do strange things don't they? I hope there are no more quakes! We continue to pray for you, and GLA each day. Our little church is concentrating on a diaper donation right now. I am thinking..."What on earth do they do with all of those diapers once used?" Yikes! Have you looked at Jill and Joe's blog lately? They are in Kauai and that little boy is a wonder to them. What a blessing. He is taking it all in and enjoying his life so very much. God bless all of you!
Sharon Wilkens

May God continue to give you more and more hope and faith for the future! Enough to spread all around Haiti! David is doing AWESOME! Talking our ears off;) May God have mercy on each and everyone in Haiti...he knows them and longs for them to know him...how He will do that through GLA we are excited to pray for and look forward to.
God Bless you this sixth month!

We've had a couple of newspaper articles now on the status of Haiti 6 months later. I'm must say, I am so very sad about this. Everything was so hopeful at the start with the fundraising in countries and the containers being filled and shipped. I was hoping Haiti would be cleaned up, reshaped, reformed and restored to be the most independent it has ever been. I will continue to pray for that and chose to believe that God has wonderful plans for everyone...and that includes the wonderful Haitian people.
I will also continue to pray for GLA and all the wonderful work you guys do there, Dixie. Say "hi" to everyone and give a big chiropractic bearhug from me. :)

Dixie, my husband and I are still seriously interested in adopting from GLA in Haiti. We met with an agency this evening about a home study...we are both 31 years old...will be 32 sooner than later....would you suggest going ahead and beginning the home study process NOW? or waiting until we are 33. We are the parents of 3 children...I know you are super-busy. Please email me when you get a sec...Thank You!! :) and God Bless you!!!

Wed, July 21, 2010 @ 6:07 PM

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